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New cancer survivor program is a STAR

By Leigh Anna Johnson

Randolph Cancer Center will be the only hospital in the state offering a new program for cancer survivors that will help them to heal faster and better. The center has a longstanding commitment to providing the best possible care for people undergoing cancer treatment. As part of the cancer care continuum, the center is developing excellent survivorship services and is teaming up with Oncology Rehab Partners to bring the Survivorship Training and Rehabilitation STAR Program.

The nationally-recognized cancer survivorship program focuses on helping survivors to heal physically and emotionally. It utilizes an interdisciplinary approach in which caregivers from different specialties team up to help patients:

Increase strength and energy.

Alleviate pain.

Improve daily function and well-being.

Most of the survivorship services integrated in the program are reimbursable by health insurance providers.

“As the first hospital system in North Carolina to achieve STAR Program Oncology certification, we are very pleased to be able to offer this new cancer service to cancer patients,” says Mary Beth Jenkins, program coordinator for the STAR Program. “With this certification, Randolph Hospital’s rehabilitation professionals will be able to help cancer patients with a wide variety of treatment-related conditions and symptoms, including pain, weakness, fatigue, shoulder problems, balance and gait problems, memory and concentration issues, swallowing and speech problems.”

The program is being utilized in some of the best cancer centers in the country, including John Hopkins. Oncology Rehab Partners was co-founded by Dr. Julie Silver, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and a cancer survivor. Silver is a leading expert in rehabilitation medicine and the author of many books, including “After Cancer Treatment: Heal Faster, Better, Stronger” and “What Helped Get Me Through: Cancer Survivors Share Wisdom and Hope” (published by the American Cancer Society).

Randolph Cancer Center offers a wide range of survivorship services, including music, tai chi and art therapy. In addition, the center will soon be offering the STAR Program, scheduled to launch in November 2013.

Prior to that, the clinical staff in the departments of oncology and rehabilitation will be undergoing intensive training in oncology rehabilitation that will help further develop their expertise in this area of cancer care. Randolph Cancer Center is excited to be teaming up with Oncology Rehab Partners to bring the STAR Program to Randolph County and the surrounding areas. The STAR Program is part of a continuing effort to provide the best possible care for patients.